Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Buys 136,240 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 205.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 136,240 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.32% of Essex Property Trust worth $59,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $115,881,000 after buying an additional 424,157 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,393,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 8.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 147,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 34.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 553,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $135,348,000 after purchasing an additional 140,294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $817,661.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,559.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $333.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS traded up $8.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $289.59. 206,572 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 378,726. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $297.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.28. The stock has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.64 and a 12 month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.